On a beautifully sunny day on the campus of Mount Aloysius College the Varsity Baseball team was looking for their 6th District 6 Baseball Championship. The Eagles were taking on the Mount Union Trojans who were looking for their 20th District 6 Baseball Championship. In the top of the 1st inning the Trojans served notice that they were ready to go when they jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead. The throng of Mount Union fans were boisterous and were already talking about the home game they would be hosting on Monday. Well to the credit of the BEA players and coaches they were not giving up. In the bottom of the 2nd inning the Eagles served notice that this party was just getting started. With one out junior catcher Kaden Burns walked. Fellow junior Gavin Burns was inserted as a courtesy runner for his cousin. Gavin Burns moved to second when senior right fielder Gavin Eckley struck out on a ball that hit the ground confusing the Mount Union catcher. The next batter was junior center fielder Cam Watkins. Watkins lined a 3-2 pitch to center field for a double as Gavin Burns scored. Junior shortstop Kahale Burns was the next BEA batter. Kahale hit the 2nd pitch of the at bat to right field and Watkins scored. The Eagles now trailed 4-2. Senior starting pitcher Tyler Serb then walked. Then junior 2nd baseman Tayten Yoder hit a line drive to right field that was misplayed allowing both Kahale Burns and Serb to score and tying the game at 4. Serb was settling in on the mound as he got the Trojans down in order in the top of the 3rd inning. In the bottom of the 3rd the BEA offense struck again. Senior 3rd baseman Justin Bisel had an infield single. Bisel advanced to 2nd base on a perfect sacrifice bunt by senior 1st baseman Parker Quick. That brought up Kaden Burns who promptly singled and scored Bisel. The Eagles now had their 1st lead of the game at 5-4. Serb continued to keep the Trojans at bay in the 4th inning as he stranded a runner. In the bottom of the inning the BEA bats went back to work. Kahale Burns led off with a walk. After Serb was out for stepping on the plate while trying to sacrifice Kahale to 2nd base, Yoder on the 5th pitch of his at bat crushed a home run to left field and extended the Eagles lead to 7-4. Sophomore designated hitter Carson Nagle was the next batter and he doubled to center. Bisel then reached when the Trojan catcher missed the 3rd strike and Nagle moved to 3rd. Quick then strolled to the plate and singled to center field allowing Nagle to score. The score was now 8-4. Mount Union did not score in the top of the 5th as the Eagles were aided by a double play when a Trojan runner going into 2nd base was called out for interfering with the throw to 1st base. In the bottom of the 5th the Eagles continued the scoring when after walks to Yoder and Nagle, Bisel singled to center field. Yoder scored to make the score 9-4 in favor of BEA. In the top of the 6th inning the Trojans tried to make things interesting. With 2 outs Mount Union plated a run to make the score 9-5. Then with 2 outs Bisel defied the saying “white men can’t jump” when he snagged a line drive over his head that would have maybe cleared the bases. The Eagles and their fans let out a big sigh of relief. BEA closed out the scoring in the bottom of the 6th inning. Kaden Burns reached on an error by the Trojan 3rd baseman and ended up at 2nd base. Gavin Burns again went in to run for Kaden. After an out, Watkins grounded out as Gavin moved to 3rd. Kahale Burns walked. Serb singled to right field and Gavin Burns scored. The Eagles extended their lead to 10-5. Senior Heath Basalla entered as a courtesy runner for Serb. Yoder was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. The final BEA run scored when Nagle drew a walk to make the score 11-5. Serb then proceeded to go out in the top of the 7th inning and nearing the 105 pitch limit he got the Trojans out after allowing a 2 out single. That set the final at 11-5 and the Eagles and their fans celebrated the come from behind victory!
Serb finished the day allowing 5 earned runs on 12 hits, a walk, and 4 strikeouts. The Eagle offense ended up with 11 hits. Serb, Yoder, and Bisel all had 2 hits. Yoder with his home run and Serb, Waktins and Nagle each with a double had the 4 extra base hits. BEA’s record now stands at 18-4. Their next game is Monday in the 1st round of the PIAA AA State Tournament. Our opponent will be McConnellsburg. Game time is TBA. The game will be played at Doc Etters Memorial Field. Tickets must be purchased on the PIAA website at https://www.piaa.org/sports/tickets.aspx?from=hellobar.
Kahale Burns - single, 2 walks, 3 runs & RBI
Tyler Serb - double, single, walk, run & RBI
Tayten Yoder - home run, single, walk, 2 run & 2 RBI
Carson Nagle - double, 2 walks, run & RBI
Justin Bisel - 2 singles, run & RBI
Parker Quick - single & RBI
Kaden Burns - single, 2 walks & RBI
Cam Watkins - double, run & RBI
Photo courtesy of Stacie Burns